Intel’s ‘Internet of Things’ division up 32%

By Chris Forrester

The Internet of Things is taking off, and how, for chip-maker Intel. The recently formed division saw growth of 32 per cent compared with the same period last year, mostly based on use of its low-cost ‘Atom’ chip, and where volume sales “nearly doubled” in y-o-y.

The news came during Intel’s Q1 analyst call, where CEO Brian Krzanch reported that while consumer demand remained “challenging” (mobile unit volumes were up y-o-y for the first time since Q2/2012, while desktop sales were flat y-o-y), the overall picture was good with all-time records in terms of core volumes and items shipped.

“The Internet of Things Group is up 32 per cent year-on-year. We continue to see robust growth across segments with particular strength in point-of-sale devices in retail and automotive in-vehicle infotainment systems,” stated Intel.

“In the new devices and Internet of Things Group, we’re working to extend Intel technology into the fast-growing world of interconnected devices. We completed the acquisition of BASIS. BASIS provides access to new world-class technology and a team of proven innovators. We also shipped our first Quark SoCs for the Internet of Things and announced an upgrade of Edison to the Silvermont Atom architecture,” added Krzanch.

For Q1, revenues came in at $12.8 billion, up 1 per cent from a year ago and in line with expectations. PC Client Group revenue was down 1 per cent from a year ago. Intel saw PC Client Group platform unit volumes grow 1 per cent year-over-year. And inclusive of tablets, we saw high single-digit unit growth. PC platform average selling prices declined 3 per cent on a year-on-year basis, said the company.